Boeing has posted some new images of its 787 Dreamliner including its interior and composite body. With the 787, Boeing hopes to block some of the blows thrown by Airbus in recent years

The Dreamliner will be available in three variants covering a wide gamut of passenger loads and route length:The 787-8 Dreamliner will carry 210 - 250 passengers on routes of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (14,800 to 15,700 kilometers), while the 787-9 Dreamliner will carry 250 - 290 passengers on routes of 8,600 to 8,800 nautical miles (15,900 to 16,300 km). A third 787 family member, the 787-3 Dreamliner, will accommodate 290 - 330 passengers and be optimized for routes of 3,000 to 3,500 nautical miles (5,550 to 6,500 km).

As much as 50% of the 787's primary structure including its wings and body will be composed of composite materials. The plane will be able to travel at Mach 0.85 and uses about 20% less fuel than planes of comparable size.

The 787 is scheduled to make its first flight in 2007 with first deliveries taking place in 2008.

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I'm interning at an aerospace company, and have heard bits and pieces of info about the plane. The new material is the main benefit, as noted. It allows a much lighter plane with thinner walls, and yet, will allow higher interior pressure due to the increased strength. The benefit to the passenger comes from the increased pressure. You won't have such a "high-altitude" effect, that results in tiredness and headaches during plane trips.

One unfortunate side effect is that the wings are so thin and the material so flexible, that the wings sag WAY down. It could be disconcerting to see your wings about to fall off (apparently.) :P But, then, when it flies, the wings fold way back up under the weight of the plane.

This should be an interesting plane. Boeing is taking almost an opposite approach to Airbus - not a huge monster, but a plane that can go where needed, more efficiently. You may get more efficiency from the huge Airbus, measured in passenger-dollars per flight and fuel or something like that, but it could only happen in limited situations, and as such, will be relegated to major city-to-city flights, whereas the dreamliner will be useable in many different areas.

It seems like Boeing stands to come out ahead on this tradeoff; more, smaller planes sold should lead to higher profit. Of course, Airbus is run by a consortium of socialistic country-states, to put it bluntly (ok, I mean European governments subsidize them heavily), so they're not as concerned about profit.

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